Tottenham Hotspur suffered their eighth defeat of the 2018-19 Premier League campaign at the hands of Chelsea on Wednesday night, and the loss effectively ended their chances of challenging Liverpool and Manchester City for the title.

Spurs couldn’t bounce back from weekend’s 2-1 loss at the hands of Burnley, and now have their work cut out for them with a visit from Arsenal next.

It had appeared that star striker Harry Kane could miss the north London derby after putting himself at the risk of being banned for his tussle with Blues defender Cesar Azpilicueta.

However, the England international has escaped any sort of punishment, and manager Mauricio Pochettino will hope he can help keep the side in third position till the end of the season.

Despite Kane’s unusual behaviour, which also saw him tussle with David Luiz, the Argentine manager didn’t see any big deal in the bust-ups.

“I think he’s competitive on the pitch. When you’re frustrated, you want to win, you want to show your character,” Pochettino told reporters when asked what he thinks of the striker’s behaviour.

“The thing that happened that we don’t know because it’s impossible from outside to the pitch to see what is going on, but that is football, it’s not a thing we must be worried (about).

“When they finish the game, I think they shake hands and big hug. And the game finished.”

What was wrong with Harry Kane last night pic.twitter.com/4x980j089d

— Goal (@goal) February 28, 2019

Kane has scored 15 league goals and assisted four others in 24 appearances for Tottenham this term, and he remains arguably their most important player.

Banning him would have landed a huge blow on the club’s top-four chances given how important he is to the side, and Pochettino will surely be relieved that the English striker escaped punishment.